Regional police and emergency services are hoping for a break after dealing with a horror four days and four fatal road accidents

The final two happened on the same stretch of the M1, less than six kilometres apart and within 12 hours of each other.

The most recent tragedy unfolded yesterday morning (August 11) at Mooball, about 13km north of Mullumbimby, when a man was struck by several vehicles — including a truck — while attending to a car breakdown in the southbound lanes. 

He died at the scene and is yet to be formally identified. The M1 was closed southbound for most of the day as police established a crime scene and began their investigation.

It came only hours after another fatal incident just south near Billinudgel on Sunday night, when three vehicles crashed into an unoccupied motorcycle before the rider’s body was found nearby.

Police believe the man was struck multiple times. That crash closed the motorway’s northbound lanes for much of the night.

The timing of the two incidents left some drivers — including truckies making return runs — caught in both closures.

The M1 incidents followed two other fatal crashes in the region over the weekend. 

On Saturday afternoon, a 55-year-old man died after his Hyundai Getz hatchback left River Street, West Ballina, and crashed into a building, causing major structural damage and a power outage.

On Friday evening, an 82-year-old woman was killed when her car collided with a semi-trailer at the Pineapple Road/Oliver Avenue roundabout in Goonellabah. 

That crash has reignited community concerns about the intersection’s safety, with locals describing poor sight lines, steep gradients and short entry lanes as hazards that put drivers at risk.

Police investigations into all four crashes are continuing, with reports to be prepared for the Coroner.